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James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James had a happy life. He stayed with his mum and dad in a house beside the sea. Also, he had many friends. One day, both his parents got eaten by a rhinoceros which escaped from the London Zoo. Now, James was sent to stay with two aunts. They were Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. Both were horrible people. They were both selfish and lazy and cruel. They liked to beat him up and use derogatory terms to insult James. James lived on a hill. However, he was never allowed to go down the hill. They threatened to punish him if he did. The only tree on the hill was a peach tree which bore no fruit. No other children or animals ever climbed the hill.

After 3 years on the hill, he saw something peculiar. James was working in the kitchen. Aunt Sponge was fat and short. Spiker was tall and bony. They monitored James’ work and often made him work faster. James began to think what the other children might be doing at this time. Tear rolled down his cheeks. Now, James ran to the far end of the garden and hid in the bushes.

This was when something peculiar happened. He heard a rustling of leaves, when an old man in a green suit emerged. The old man showed him something wonderful. They appeared to be green seeds which looked like crystals. They were alive and they could move. It was like magic. He handed the bag to James.

The old man instructed him to pour the green things into a jug of water and add 10 strands of his hair into it. James had to drink the solution. With that, he left.

The problem was how to get to the kitchen without his aunts seeing. In the garden, he tripped and the contents were strewn on the ground. They started seeping into the ground. However the particles were much too quick. Now, all of them disappeared. James was upset. Whoever the solution meets first, will have the full power of their magic. The aunts spotted him and he had to resume working.

Aunt Spiker noticed that a peach was growing. It was a beautiful peace. Sometimes spectacular was about to happen. It looked ripe to be eaten. James was ordered to climb the tree to pick the fruit. The peace was growing at a fanatic rate. It was like a miracle before their very eyes.

It was like a pumpkin now. The branch holding the peach didn’t break yet. Now, the fruit was as big as Aunt Sponge. Now, it was the size of a small car. The aunts wanted to eat it. Now it rested and didn’t fall off the tree. The skin of the peach was brilliant. Spiker wanted to sell it but Aunt Sponge wanted to eat it.

News of the peach spread like wildfire. A fence was built around the peach. Now, they collected entrance fees before anyone could view the peach. The media got in the act as well. James was not allowed to leave the house and wanted to meet other children.

The aunts left him out in the cold. He was frightened of the dark. He had this strange sensation that something would happen. Now, James climbed over the fence and touched the peach. He began to notice that there was a hole in the side of the peach.

The hole was fairly large. He went inside and kept crawling. It was like a tunnel. It was leading to the centre of the peach. He came upon wood. Suddenly, he saw two people.

They were like creatures but James wasn’t sure what they were. There was a giant grasshopper, a giant spider, giant ladybug, a centipede, earthworm and a silkworm. The insects realized that he was afraid and comforted him. They were all in the same boat.

James finally made it. The centipede removed his boots. The centipede was the only pest and he was proud of it. The insects swallowed the green crystals when they entered the soil and grew in size. James decided that he liked the Centipede as he was humorous in nature. The insects were planning on sleeping now.

The spider made the bed for all of them. Each of them had a hammock made by the Spider. All the insects were asleep. There was a glow worm which provided light for all of them. The glow worm finally obliged and switched the light off. The creatures all made weird noises. Most of them were kind and helpful despite a few arguments.

Now, the insects were planning to roll down the hill. Centipede nibbled away at the stem. They started to roll down the hill, away from the awful aunts. The insects started to sing. Although they were apprehensive, it was better than staying on the hill.

The aunts wanted to make their fortune. The aunts gasped when they saw the peach. It was heading their way. They began to run. The peach was upon them now. It rolled over them and the aunts laid motionless in the garden.

The peach rolled across a road and twenty fields and a large part of the countryside. It carried on through the countryside, destroying everything in its wake. It simply couldn’t stop. It was heading towards the ocean. It fell over the cliff and hit the water with a huge splash. Now, the peach floated on the water surface.

Now, the scene in the peach was one of chaos. The insects were being thrown about. The glow worm finally provide light. It was a wonderful journey. The peach bobbed up and down on the water surface. It was smarter to exit through the top rather than the side. They built a rope ladder.

They were all out in the open now. James proclaimed that they were in the middle of the ocean. There was no sight of land nearby. It was very odd. It was an awkward situation indeed. The insects wanted to swim but there was no need to as they were floating. The Earthworm was a gloomy person and thought that the Peach was sinking. Now, the lack of food was a problem. James mentioned that they could always eat the peach. But eating the ship wasn’t a good idea. James predicted the peach could last a few weeks at least. The peach was absolutely delicious in taste. It was terrific. Everyone was feeling happy now and the sea was calm.

Two objects were gliding in the waters. Earthworm thought they were sharks. There were sharks circulating the peach now. Now, all the other sharks came and lashed at the peach with their tails. James was thinking of a plan and everybody looked to him.

The sharks were thrashing in the waters below. James had a plan. He needed a very very long string. Everyone thought of the silkworm. James thought of lifting the peach out of the water. The seagulls would pick up the peach and lift it away. It would require thousands of seagulls to do that. James would repeat the process of using the string to hook the stem of the peach and the seagull at the other end. The problem was time. The problem was how to bait the seagulls so that they would come. The earthworm was afraid that he would be used as bait.

So this would be their plan. James promised that the seagulls wouldn’t eat the earthworm. Everyone needed to work now, especially the spider and the Earthworm.

Everything was ready now. All the other insects were hiding but would pull earthworm to safety if any seagull approached him. James was prepared to use the string to hook the seagull. The seagull was captured. It was great and now the process had to be repeated. Now, there were 400 seagulls. The silkworm was running out of silk. Now, after 501 seagulls were hooked, the peach was lifted off the ground. After 1 more seagull was added, there was liftoff.

Goodbye sharks. It was an awesome experience. Now, the insects started dancing. The spider went to inspect the side of the peach. There was very little damage to the peach. The shark would have difficulty chewing because it had a very long nose. Now, there was a ship. It was the Queen Mary and it was headed to America. The Captain used his telescope to view it. The peach disappeared among the clouds.

Everyone on the peach was still happy. They trusted the seagulls to return to land. The grasshopper started to play music. It was beautiful music and it had chords, harmonies etc. He was using his own body to sound like a violin. He was a short-horn violinist. The grasshoppers kept his ears in his tummy. It was fascinating to say the least.

The Earthworm and Centipede started arguing. The Earthworm could do extraordinary things. He covered a lot of ground in the soil and swallows it. It makes the soil nice and light. The farmers love the earthworm and ladybugs. Ladybugs can swallow the aphids etc. The spiders were often hated by humans. Spider’s father was flushed down the toilet bowl. The same applied to centipedes. The spider started crying. The centipede could sing extremely well.

We never change our spots. Some of us, of course, are born with more spots than others, but we never change them. The number of spots that a Ladybug has is simply a way of showing which branch of the family she belongs to. I, for example, as you can see for yourself, am a Nine-Spotted Ladybug. I am very lucky. It is a fine thing to be. – Ladybug

The centipede was dangling near the edge of the peach. Down he fell. The silkworm started spinning. James clung on the string and headed down to try and save the centipede. All the animals pulled and managed to rescue the both of them. It was night. The grasshopper wanted to guard the peach.

The peach was stealthy. They saw wispy looking things which were Cloud Men. The Cloud Men started grabbing cloud and the cloud turned into marbles. Now, the cloud men tipped the marbles over and these marbles were actually hailstones. The centipedes started screaming at the cloud men in anger. The Cloud Men stopped their act immediately. Now they flung hailstones at the peach. James ordered everyone to lie flat on their backs. One of them hit centipede. Everyone headed down the tunnel and into safety. Finally, the cloud men left.

The airplane comes clattering and roaring through the sky, and whatever might be lurking secretly up there in the great cloud-mountains goes running for cover at its approach. That is why people who travel in airplanes never see anything. – Roald Dahl

The peach was leaking now due to the hailstone damage. Earthworm thought they would sink. Now, they saw a bridge in the air. Their only hope was to head over to the bridge. The cloud men were painting the arch. It was a rainbow and it was a sheer beauty. Everyone was enthralled by its beauty and brilliance. Now, the cloud men were lowering it down. The peach crashed into the rainbow. They split the rainbow into two. Now, the peach got stuck and was tangled with the rope. One huge cloud men was approaching the peach. One seagull pulled him away. The other cloud men were afraid and released the peach. Now, the peach was pelted with other objects. The centipede was covered with purple paint now.

The centipede could hardly talk now. The plan was to pull centipede so hard that he would shed his old skin. Someone was shouting.

It was a huge dark cloud above the peach. It was rumbling. A huge volume of water hit the peach and everybody thought it was the end of the world. Thankfully, the seagulls navigated them out of the dark cloud and they were safe again. The centipede was free of paint after a washing. It began singing too.

The seagulls were heading to land. The peach passed a cloud men’s city. It was finally morning again.

The centipede finally spotted land and streets and houses. It was a vast city. James realized they reached America. Centipede was tasked to bite through the strings to lower the peach.

The peach reached New York City. Many people thought that it was a bomb. The President and all were activated. Now the peach was losing height. Suddenly, a jet sliced away all their strings and the peach fell at a great speed. The city people prayed. The peach fell on a needle of the building. It was the Empire State Building.

It was an amazing sight. Everyone thought they were from outer space. The Chief of Police demanded to see them. A large security force gathered at the top of the building. The firemen kept speculating what the creatures were. One by one, the insects showed their heads to the police. James waved at everybody from the top. He started to sing. The Policemen were impressed with his descriptions of the insects. Everybody cried hooray! The crowd started cheering and the insects were basking in glory. It was time to go down.

Of course they’re not dangerous. They’re the nicest creatures in the world! Allow me to introduce them to you one by one and then I’m sure you will believe me. – James

Now, the peach was the hero. A ticker tape parade was to be organized. The insects sat in limousines and toured the city. All the children tried a bit of the peach. It was a fantastic sight. The entire peach was eaten up.

The insects all held good corporate jobs. The peach stone was a monument in Central Park. James’ house was also in Central Park. A replica of the room inside the peach was erected. Children from all over the world visited the monument. James wrote this book.

And James, who once, if you remember, had been the safest and the loneliest little boy that you could find, now had all the friends and playmates in the world. – Roald Dahl

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2 thoughts on “James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl”

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